Obsidian Entertainment - MCA Interview @ Gamasutra

WillOoi: Hi Chris, thanks very much for taking time out to participate in this interview. You're quite the hero to many RPG fans out there and your willingness to answer questions is well documented and much appreciated. So what are you up to at the moment?

Chris Avellone: Still working hard here at Obsidian, wrapping up the last bits of Fallout New Vegas DLC, Lonesome Road. We had the last narrative tasks and voice-acting session last week (Ed: end of May), it went well, and now it's a matter of doing more run-throughs of DLC4 to get a feel for the pacing and polish what we can. It's been a long road from New Vegas to the end of the DLCs, and now when I go home, I'm not sure what to do with myself - on NV and the DLCs, it was easy, I just didn't go home.

As for what's next, we still have a number of titles in development, so I've been playing those builds, going to design meetings, making and reviewing critiques and working on pitches for additional products. One thing I'll say - being an independent developer gives you access to franchises I never thought possible a few years back.

Since most of my life this past year has been in Fallout DLC-land, I will say that DLCs are a great proving ground for these elements… there's a lot of latitude to play around with narratives, quests, themes, and even new level design toolbox elements to try out some new gameplay mechanics, and because the DLCs are short experiences, they become great test cases for this.

I know there's a lot of DLC haters on here but sounds like there might be some benefits.

I'm a dlc hater for the most part because most are useless and not needed and others are just to short for the money. I'll stop there. Sadly I'm a old gamer who loved expansions and now I'm forced to buy the expansion in little chunks.

I have seen several great DLC's and see DLC's as a great way to extend a large RPG even more and adjust the game a bit after criticism from the public.

So far, there have been more bad DLC's than good ones. One of the best on what a DLC can offer is Broken Steel for Fallout 3;
+ Increased Level Cap.
+ Continue after the main game with an extended story.
+ New monsters and improved spawns. New items throughout the land.

This pretty much like official expansions such as Tales of the Sword Coast, Hordes of the Underdark and Mask of the Betrayer. Granted, it might not be as long or as well-written as Hordes of the Underdark and Mask of the Betrayer, but easily challenge Tales of the Sword Coast at a cheaper price.

I also happen to like Point Lookout simply because it added such a different experience compared with the original title. Same with Overlord for Mass Effect 2. I cannot say the same about the other three DLC's though.

The romps through Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker and Awakening for Mass Effect 2 gave a few hours more out of the game to be played with a high level character, extending the game a bit more. Even combined they costs less than what Hordes of the Underdark did when it was new.

I believe the best DLC's are the ones given to open-ended and free-roaming RPG's in which you just crave to have another quest with some challenge to your high-level character. DLC's that also increase the level-cap and add more variety to the free-roaming content (more monsters and loot).

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